Volunteers Needed for 2005 Annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup

Volunteers Needed for the
2005 Annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, in conjunction with the Fairfax
Watershed Network, a dedicated group of agencies and individuals that
support and promote the improvement and protection of the county’s
streams and watersheds, announce the 17th Annual Potomac Watershed
Cleanup to be held April 2, from 9 a.m. until noon, rain or shine.
Volunteers are needed this year to help with a designated cleanup site or
to organize a cleanup site in their neighborhoods.

This year’s theme is “Take Pride in Our Potomac: It Starts in Your Back
Yard!” and emphasizes the impact on the Potomac River from the streams
that drain into it. Trash left on our sidewalks and streets finds its way
into storm drains that dump the litter into nearby streams or into the
Potomac River itself.

Last year, over 3,600 volunteers across the region participated in the
event and removed 162 tons of trash from 38 tributaries and shorelines of
the Potomac River in three hours. In Reston alone, 121 volunteers helped
remove 3.2 tons of trash from nearby streams and in Mason Neck, 20 miles
of shoreline were cleaned of trash.

The Network’s goal for this year is to double the number of registered
cleanup sites in the county and increase the number of volunteers. The
cleanup, sponsored by the Alice Ferguson Foundation, a nonprofit
organization that fosters environmentally responsible behavior, has grown
steadily over the years. Since 1989, the foundation’s cleanup has removed
more than 1,000 tons of trash from the Potomac River.

People or groups willing to organize a site in their neighborhood are
urged to contact the cleanup coordinator, Wende Pearson, with the Alice
Ferguson Foundation at 301-292-6665, TTY 711 or visit the Web site at www.PotomacCleanup.org
for site locations in need of volunteers. The foundation provides free
gloves and trash bags for the cleanup sites and coaches site leaders on
how to organize their site.

FAIRFAX COUNTY IS COMMITTED TO A POLICY OF NONDISCRIMINATION IN ALL
COUNTY PROGRAMS, SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES AND WILL PROVIDE REASONABLE
ACCOMMODATIONS UPON REQUEST. TO REQUEST SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS, CALL
703-324-3187, TTY 703-324-2935. PLEASE ALLOW FIVE WORKING DAYS IN ADVANCE
OF EVENTS IN ORDER TO MAKE THE NECESSARY ARRANGEMENTS